Just another New Year's Eve...

Thought I'd share a bit of fun viewing for New Year's. My dearest and I always watch "After the Thin Man" on New Year's Eve - why, of course we have cocktails, but thankfully, no murders. Enjoy!

Dragnet: The Big Betty - Sgt. Friday makes an arrest on New Year's Eve



After the Thin Man - Nick and Nora celebrate the New Year with style and crime.



Sunset Boulevard - Norma Desmond throws a New Year's Eve party for two.



And, of course, it wouldn't be New Year's Eve without Guy Lombardo and the ball drop in Times Square!

"Here's to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old; here's to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold."
-- Anonymous

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!!

All That Glitters Is Not Gold...

Sometimes it's Silver Gleam Icicles!

Just this past Monday, I stopped into a nearby multi-dealer antique shop to buy some vanilla beans (oddly enough, there's a booth with spices, herbs, etc.). While there, I decided to have a look about the place, being unable to resist the lure of antiques. As I approached a booth near the front, a silver gleam caught my eye... There before me on a 1950s formica table were, not one, not two, not even four, but SIX BOXES of vintage tinsel! I couldn't believe my eyes. Vintage tinsel, the real thing, was not something I ever expected to find other than online. I bought four of the six boxes (yes, I know, why not buy them all??).


The metal used in this tinsel is not indicated on the box, so I'm not sure if it's silver, lead, tin, aluminum, or a mixture of metals. I can tell you that it has weight, although my dearest doesn't believe it's heavy enough to be lead. Whatever the content, it drapes beautifully. The tinsel is also crimped for more surfaces that reflect the light. And thankfully, it's not affected by static, like the PVC tinsel of today.

Here's a close-up photo of how it looks on the tree. The golden teapot ornament is a family heirloom that was passed to my mother by my grandmother, and now to me.

And now, the tree, tinsel, lights, and ornaments in all their glory....

Wishing you a special silver gleam for your holiday, however you may celebrate!

Now, where'd I leave my cup of eggnog?

A day that will live in infamy...

December 7, 1941. A radio announcer breaks into the regularly scheduled program to tell us that the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor...



I've often tried to imagine what it must have been like for my grandparents on that day, just weeks before the joyous Christmas holiday. I wonder if they experienced feelings similar to those I felt on September 11, 2001... Shock, disbelief, anger, grief. Thousands of lives were lost in a matter of minutes.

Here is the shorter version (32 mins.) of John Ford's "December 7th" - worth watching particularly for the section which pays tribute the American soldiers killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.